1. Breaking Down Category View

Although
Windows 7, like Windows Vista, defaults to Category view, the
categories and their contents are somewhat different in Windows 7 than
in its predecessor.

Note

If
you need to access a Control Panel option that’s available only in
Large Icons or Small Icons view, or if you just plain prefer to view
individual icons, open the Control Panel and click Large Icons or Small
Icons (see Figure 1).

There
are eight standard categories in Category view on any computer running
Windows 7 (settings formerly in a separate Mobile category have been
folded into other categories). Virtually every Control Panel applet in
Windows 7 can be accessed from one or more categories.

Tables 1 through 8
list the tasks for each category. These are listed in the order of
appearance, from top left to bottom right, not alphabetically. Clicking
any of the categories takes you to another dialog box showing those
tasks.

Note

The items listed in Tables 1 through 10
include every item in every edition of Windows 7. If you have the Home
Starter, Home Premium, Professional or Enterprise edition, your Control
Panel might not have every item listed here.

In
the Control Panel screens, items featuring the Windows 7 Security
shield indicate that the item is protected by User Account Control;
with the default UAC settings, standard users must provide a password
from an Administrator account to open these items.

Virtually
every Control Panel applet visible in Large Icons view or Small Icons
views can be accessed from one or more categories. However, a few can
be accessed only from Large Icons or Small Icons view. Applets are
listed and cross-referenced to their respective categories in Table 9.

Table 9. Control Panel Applets and Categories

Applet

Also Found in This Category

Action Center

System and Security

Administrative Tools

System and Security

AutoPlay

Hardware and Sound

Backup and Restore

System and Security

BitLocker Drive Encryption

System and Security

Color Management

Hardware and Sound

Credential Manager

User Accounts and Family Safety

Date and Time

Clock, Language, and Region

Default Programs

Programs

Desktop Gadgets

Programs; Appearance and Personalization

Device Manager

System and Security, Hardware and Sound

Devices and Printers

Hardware and Sound

Display

Hardware and Sound; Appearance and Personalization

Ease of Access Center

Appearance and Personalization; Ease of Access

Folder Options

Appearance and Personalization

Fonts

Appearance and Personalization

Getting Started

—

HomeGroup

Network and Internet

Indexing Options

System and Security

Internet Options

Network and Internet

Keyboard

Hardware and Sound

Location and Other Sensors

—

Mouse

Hardware and Sound

Network and Sharing Center

Network and Internet

Notification Area Icons

Appearance and Personalization (submenu)

Parental Controls

User Accounts and Family Safety

Pen and Input Devices

Hardware and Sound

Performance Information and Tools

System and Security

Personalization

Appearance and Personalization

Phone and Modem

—

Power Options

System and Security; Hardware and Sound

Programs and Features

Programs

Recovery

Action Center (submenu)

Region and Language

Clock, Language, and Region

RemoteApp and Desktop Connections

—

Sound

Hardware and Sound

Speech Recognition

Ease of Access

Sync Center

Network and Internet

System

System and Security

Tablet PC Settings

Hardware and Sound

Taskbar and Start Menu

Appearance and Personalization

Troubleshooting

Action Center (submenu)

User Accounts

User Accounts and Family Safety

Windows CardSpace

User Accounts and Family Safety

Windows Defender

—

Windows Firewall

System and Security

Windows Mobility Center

Hardware and Sound

Windows Update

System and Security

You
can use either Category view or the individual Large Icons view or
Small Icons view to access virtually every feature of the Control
Panel. From the home view of Control Panel, select the view you prefer
from the View By menu in the upper-right corner.

2. What Should You Use?

Working
with the Control Panel in Category view simplifies access to both
commonly and less-commonly used configuration controls. However, some
applets are referenced by more than one category. Consequently, to
provide an exhaustive discussion of the applets. If
you want to use Category view, refer to Tables 1 to 9.

Table 10
shows a list of all the standard Control Panel applets and what they
accomplish. Your Control Panel may include other applets that are
installed by other products from Microsoft and third parties.

Device Manager

Devices and Printers

Manages
and installs many types of devices and printers, including monitors,
digital cameras and imaging devices, mice, keyboards, and others.
Replaces the Add Hardware, Printers, and Scanners and Cameras applets
in previous versions of Windows.

Personalization

Phone and Modem

Adds,
removes, and sets the properties of the modem(s) connected to your
system. Using this applet, you can declare dialing rules (long-distance
numbers, call waiting, credit card calling, and so on). You also can
add and remove telephony drivers.

Power Options

Configures power settings (“power plans”), power and sleep buttons, and other power management issues.